Trump administration selects former DeVry official to lead college enforcement unit

The Trump administration has tapped a former for-profit college official to lead the Education Department unit that polices fraud in higher education.

Julian Schmoke Jr., who previously directed campus operations at West Georgia Technical College and served as a dean at DeVry University, will be the department’s new chief enforcement officer, according to an internal email obtained by POLITICO.

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Schmoke will lead the Student Aid Enforcement Unit, which was established by the Obama administration to more aggressively combat fraud and deceptive practices at colleges and universities.

The unit has been without a permanent leader since the departure earlier this year of Robert Kaye, a former top consumer protection attorney at the Federal Trade Commission.

“Julian possesses over 16 years of experience in higher education leadership with extensive knowledge in the development and implementation of strategies for achieving student success, higher education policy and evaluation of academic programs,” the head of the Federal Student Aid Office A. Wayne Johnson wrote in an internal email last week.

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The selection of Schmoke is likely to draw the ire of some Senate Democrats, who had urged Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to select a “strong and independent” chief enforcement officer to lead the unit.

Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote in a letter to DeVos that the person must “have relevant experience in consumer protection or litigation, managing attorneys, and conducting investigations with the highest ethical standards.”

Before joining West Georgia Technical College, a public institution, Schmoke worked in various roles at DeVry University between October 2008 and April 2012, including as an associate program dean, according to his LinkedIn page.

DeVry’s parent company, which has since rebranded as Adtalem Global Education, last year agreed to pay $100 million to resolve allegations by the Federal Trade Commission that the for-profit college company misled students about their job and salary prospects.

The company also separately reached a settlement with the Education Department over similar allegations. Obama administration officials cited those cases against DeVry as they announced the formation of the Student Aid Unit last year.

The unit Schmoke will oversee is also responsible for processing debt relief claims filed by federal student loan borrowers who say they’ve been defrauded by their college. DeVry students had 1,872 “borrower defense to repayment” claims pending before the department, according to a July 7 letter from acting Undersecretary of Education James Manning.

The Trump administration has stopped approving new “borrower defense” claims, but DeVos has said she’ll honor the claims previously approved by the Obama Education Department.

The Trump administration also appears to be reshuffling how the enforcement unit is structured.

Schmoke will report to Robin Minor, a longtime career official who leads the department’s separate compliance division, according to Johnson’s email. Schmoke’s predecessor reported directly to the head of the Office of Federal Student Aid.

Johnson, who was tapped by DeVos to run the Federal Student Aid office earlier this year following the sudden departure of James Runcie, also announced the hiring of several other top officials for his office:

— Michael Dean, the chief financial officer at First Performance Global, the payment technology company that Johnson founded and previously led, will become the chief enterprise risk officer of the Federal Student Aid office.

— Chris Greene, the former communications director of FSA who most recently worked at The College Board, will re-join the Education Department as its chief customer experience officer.

— Charles Patterson, the vice president for research and economic development at Georgia Southern University, will become a senior adviser for “executive-level outreach,” which is a new position.

— Laura Shuler is senior adviser for business processes. Shuler “most recently supported the marketing activities in the launch of a private student loan refinance company,” Johnson said in his email. According to her LinkedIn profile, Shuler worked at Reunion Financial Services, where Johnson was previously the chief executive officer.